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We are scheduled to visit El Torcal and surrounds on Saturday 21 May. Details will appear shortly.

This is a most beautiful area with incredible rock formations and for those travelling from afar I have received a message from members John and Grethe Jastrey who live immediately below the area offering bed and breakfast accommodation to members as follows:

SPECIAL OFFER FOR ANDALUCIAN BIRD SOCIETY; 14. - 16. MAY 2016

Welcome to B&B for the monthly meeting at El Torcal. We have 4 double rooms, all with in-suite bathrooms. Stay with us before and/or after the outing. We are situated a 25 minute drive from the Visitors centre at El Torcal - see our web-site at www.vistadeltorcal.no/english

First call: 6:00 to try the Eagle Owl hooting (visual contact would be great!) and the first flights of Griffon Vultures and Peregrine Falcons.General call: 9:30

Leader for the day: Luis Alberto Rodríguez

Directions to the meeting point: When coming from Antequera, take A343 (signed “El Torcal”) and A7075 to El Torcal (do not follow A343 to Valle de Abdalajis!) up to Villanueva. When coming from Malaga, exit A45 at Casabermeja and follow the signs to Malaga. After going through the tunnel below the A45, take right at the roundabout, go on parallel to the highway and take “Almogia – Villanueva de la Concepción” to the left at the junction. Follow the signs to Villanueva. Bar El Oasis is near the west end of the village towards Almogía (see map attached).

Those coming from Antequera that do not want to join the first call, can take the road up to El Torcal to be there at 9:45 instead of going down to Villanueva, but the Visitors Centre do not open until 10:00 and we should start our walk there as soon as possible to avoid visitors!!

The meeting:

We will drive from Villanueva to the car park just at the entrance to the Nature Reserve in order to minimize the number of cars in the convoy.

Once at the Visitros Centre, we will walk the Green Path. It will take around one and a half hour to do it slowly and paying attention to the birds. It will require wearing comfortable hiking shoes. Some stretches of the path can be a bit tricky so those unwilling to do the “birdwalk” can visit the Mirador (viewpoint) de Las Ventanillas, just 50 m from the VC to enjoy the wonderful views and the close flights of the Griffon Vultures, or walk the initial and final sections of the Green Path where they will find more or less the same birds as in the middle.

We will then get the cars again to call in two more places of the Nature Reserve and start a tour around the Sierra de La Chimenea (west to El Torcal) and the north cliffs of El Torcal to be back to the car park in the evening.

Other sites in the area: Valle de Abdalajis cliffs, El Chorro , Laguna de Fuente de Piedra.May Field Meeting at El Torcal de Antequera Nature Reserve

Date: May 21st

Meeting point: Bar El Oasis – Villanueva de la Concepción

Meeting time:

First call: 6:00 to try the Eagle Owl hooting (visual contact would be great!) and the first flights of Griffon Vultures and Peregrine Falcons.General call: 9:30

Leader for the day: Luis Alberto Rodríguez

Directions to the meeting point: When coming from Antequera, take A343 (signed “El Torcal”) and A7075 to El Torcal (do not follow A343 to Valle de Abdalajis!) up to Villanueva. When coming from Malaga, exit A45 at Casabermeja and follow the signs to Malaga. After going through the tunnel below the A45, take right at the roundabout, go on parallel to the highway and take “Almogia – Villanueva de la Concepción” to the left at the junction. Follow the signs to Villanueva. Bar El Oasis is near the west end of the village towards Almogía (see map attached).

Those coming from Antequera that do not want to join the first call, can take the road up to El Torcal to be there at 9:45 instead of going down to Villanueva, but the Visitors Centre do not open until 10:00 and we should start our walk there as soon as possible to avoid visitors!!

The meeting:

We will drive from Villanueva to the car park just at the entrance to the Nature Reserve in order to minimize the number of cars in the convoy.

Once at the Visitros Centre, we will walk the Green Path. It will take around one and a half hour to do it slowly and paying attention to the birds. It will require wearing comfortable hiking shoes. Some stretches of the path can be a bit tricky so those unwilling to do the “birdwalk” can visit the Mirador (viewpoint) de Las Ventanillas, just 50 m from the VC to enjoy the wonderful views and the close flights of the Griffon Vultures, or walk the initial and final sections of the Green Path where they will find more or less the same birds as in the middle.

We will then get the cars again to call in two more places of the Nature Reserve and start a tour around the Sierra de La Chimenea (west to El Torcal) and the north cliffs of El Torcal to be back to the car park in the evening.

We'll be there for the later call, This'll be the last meeting for us before returning to Sweden. Hopefully we're back later on in the year. Our latest plans are to spend couple of months on Öland in Baltic Sea during the autumn migration. Hope to see a few Spanish migrants there before there long journey south. Geoff & Liza Chapman